Three Chords and the Truth UK

Within the cramped confines of the Kitchen Garden Café, a little Space was created on this final Sunday night in April. Not that there had been any changes to this intimate venue, just that Birds of Chicago managed to bring to Birmingham some of the magic from their fabulous latest album LIVE FROM SPACE recorded at an Illinois venue last year. Since that recording the band’s heartbeat, Allison Russell and JT Nero have welcomed a new arrival into their life and the four month old Ida has wasted little time in making her presence felt on their overseas tours. The immense pride of the couple has certainly filtered through to their onstage performance as we were treated to a blossoming demonstration of how to merge a country/folk rock sound with some sublime soulful blues. It was a great privilege to give LIVE FROM SPACE a glowing recommendation based on its exceptional crystal clear quality and a number of songs performed on the record were re-visited during this short interim UK and...

Although the stage in the smaller of the two Hare and Hounds music rooms was graced by five excellent artists, there was the spirit of a sixth one looming in the background. It was almost a year ago since Chuck Prophet thrilled the very same venue with a return to the city after a lengthy absence and tonight his influence filtered through the veins of each performance. The evening’s continual stream of highly accomplished guitar driven Americana music had its source in a short but growing in stature set from Kathleen Haskard before emerging into its outlet some three hours later with Jace Everett blasting out a finale of Buddy Holly’s ‘Not Fade Away’ . Yet this flow of inspirational music peaked mid-evening with a reminder by Dan Stuart as to why Green on Red were one of the most influential bands to emerge from the 1980’s LA Paisley Underground scene. Even Jace Everett had to concede that following a storming set by Dan and his mightily impressive sidekick guitarist Antonio G...

In this golden age of DIY music, artists are forever coming up with ingenuous ways of getting their sound out to both new and established audiences. The latest venture by Canadian trio The Crooked Brothers is based around blending the visual artistic talents of band member Jesse Matas and a self-gratifying desire to preserve the timeless and under threat postal system in their homeland. However with keeping a foot on either side of the communication timeline, the band have launched three new songs which are primarily being made available by a limited edition of re-usable postcard downloads. The spirit is in posting the card on to a new user and thus spreading the content of some very good old time roots music laced with authentic instrumentation and delectable harmonies. Each limited design postcard, featuring art originating from within the band and across Canada, has a restricted print run of 100 but rest assured a popular download site is making the tunes accessible in a ...

You don’t have to listen long to any country music with an ounce of heritage in it to come across a tune played in the old three-four time. The waltz has been an integral part of country music for as long as couples have been heading down to the honky tonk to dance away the troubles and woes of a rural life. So in an age where there are a significant number of performers still keeping the traditions alive, UK country legend Hank Wangford has raised the preservation stakes higher by dedicating a whole double album to the sound which he proudly implies as always been a differentiation marker between country and rock n’ roll. To keep within a choice of moods, Hank has neatly packaged this mixture of originals and standards into, whether you’re up for a dose of melancholy or need a little ‘end of the day’ pick up. There is a school of thought which suggests only the former exists in true country music but occasionally we all deserve the optimism of ‘ Save Me the Waltz’ or a trip to ‘...

They may be young in years but folk starlet duo Katriona Gilmore and Jamie Roberts have racked up a fair amount of experience on the UK roots and acoustic circuit. With three duo albums behind them (plus new songs beginning to take shape) and an ever increasing number of live gigs under their belt (this was a third visit to the Café), the careers of Kat and Jamie are beginning to gather momentum. A highly credible turnout for a Sunday evening gig at the Kitchen Garden saw the holy trinity of live acoustic music develop in front of them– great musicianship, engaging vocals and enlightening storytelling interludes. Prior to a twin pair of forty-five minute sets by Kat and Jamie, there was a very entertaining performance by another duo, this time playing under a pseudonym-style name of Rita Payne. This duo houses the vocal talent of Pete Sowerby and the guitar skills of Rhiannon Scutt. They certainly possess an air of confidence to make audiences outside their hometown of Doncaster t...

The experience of seeing Matt Andersen live is one you won’t forget. His imposing stage presence, booming vocals and adept finger pickin’ all etch on your memory and recognition has been honoured by blues organisations on both sides of the pond. The release of his eighth album, and debut for True North Records, sees Matt venture further into a bout of discovery with a sound far more versatile than some of the labels previously attached to him. WEIGHTLESS gets its UK release in mid-April with a more polished production than earlier albums. The result is a breakthrough sound for Matt with a distinct soulful feel to the twelve tracks although there are elements of country, blues and rock to excite fans of the wider Americana movement. It was a privilege to catch Matt live twice last year, once at a festival in his Canadian homeland and more intimately in the cellar bar of a UK pub, and the good news is that his distinct vocals which stretch every ounce of sinew are intact. It is f...

It is quite common for a roots album to possess a minimalistic production sound leaving an overriding live feel to the music often recorded on a single take. LIVE FROM SPACE, the latest release by versatile North American outfit Birds of Chicago achieves a similar objective albeit from a different angle with a live recording possessing a crystal clear sound to rival a studio release. If you are new to the work of the band’s core members, J T Nero and Allison Russell, then this comprehensive and authentic album will act as the perfect introduction to their appealing musical talents. It was a surely a magical evening back in the summer of 2013 at the Evanton SPACE venue in Illinois, USA when JT and Alli served up this sumptuous amalgam of abrasive American roots music laced with a dressing of beautiful soul. The way the duo blends their contrasting styles around 17 self-composed tunes is the most striking feature of this record and will whet the appetite to savour this delight in ...

With strains of classic early seventies American singer-song writing, Paul McClure has announced his arrival as a solo artist with an album full of raw sentiment and stripped back sensibility. SMILING FROM THE FLOOR UP is the latest recording under the Clubhouse Records banner and complements perfectly the label’s wealth of slightly more rock flavoured material. For this debut album, the former HI and Lo band member McClure has put his songs firmly and deliberately in the foreground with an uninhibited invitation to share his thoughts and experiences. The result is a 10-track compendium of no thrills revelations to rival the output of any touring US troubadour preaching the gospel according to Van Zandt, Dylan and Young. Before you even slip the CD into the slot, the extensive sleeve notes indicate what the record means to McClure who values the sparseness of the production as much as the therapy derived from committing his soul to song. Aside from the feelings of the performer,...

The phrase ‘too rock for country; too country for rock’ is often used to describe Americana music. If you’re seeking a band to epitomise this statement then look no further than Simone Felice when he hits the road as a trio. His latest trip to the UK kicked off on the second day of April and a well-populated Hare and Hounds pub in Birmingham lapped up this exhilarating performance by Simone and his sidekicks Matty Green and Gabriel Dresdale. Many visits to our shores over the years has seen Simone cultivate a decent following this side of the Atlantic and the vocal adulation received from those present on this opening night left him truly humble. A man of few but well-chosen words, Simone let his song writing, guitar playing and compelling drumming do a bulk of the communicating as he utilised an excellent sound system to play a cross section of songs from the three projects of his career. The latest solo album from Simone is starting to get rave reviews from the knowledgeable...